Category: Civil Society

When foreign meddling backfires, can democrats advance?

     

The authoritarian resurgence threatens to bring back the great power competition that caused so much destruction during the first half of the 20th century, argues Mathew J. Burrows, director of… Read more »

Liberal democracy’s 1989 promise ‘a squandered opportunity’

     

Two great earthquakes shaped the present global order. The first, in 1989, seemed to promise an irresistible march towards liberal democracy and open markets. The opportunity was squandered by those… Read more »

Russia’s New Ideocracy vs. liberal democracy

     

  “Putinism” has long been a hot topic in the West, where the term – describing the policies and practices of Russian President Vladimir Putin – is generally met with… Read more »

Democracy under threat in post-Wall Europe: Spirit of 1989 fighting back

     

The west’s mistake after 1989 was not that we celebrated what happened in central Europe – and subsequently in the Baltic republics and the former Soviet Union – as a… Read more »

Hybrid threat: Illiberal non-state actors clamping down on civic activism

     

1989 marked the end not of history as such, but of a specific chapter in history. Western liberal democracy, which Francis Fukuyama predicted would enjoy eternal supremacy after 1989, now faces an increasingly… Read more »

‘Reasons for Hope’? Illiberal wave vs. democratic resilience

     

The illiberal wave in Poland and Hungary, in addition to the corruption in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia can be easily used as excuses against further EU enlargement, notes Carnegie’s Judy Dempsey…. Read more »

Defending civic space: A strategic imperative for the international community

     

Civic space—the fundamental liberties that allow people to gather, communicate, and collectively engage in groups to influence society and politics—is the bedrock of any democracy. But it is increasingly vulnerable,… Read more »

Time to recognize the ‘new faces of Iranian protest’

     

  The Islamic Republic of Iran has come under fierce criticism amid reports that the judiciary amputated a man’s fingers for theft in the latest in a series of incidents… Read more »

Russia’s protest movement: Prospects and problems

     

The eruption of protests on the streets of Moscow in early August was the culmination of demonstrations the previous month after election officials barred opposition candidates from running for City… Read more »

A better way to counter astroturfing: Disinformation, technology, and democracy in transition

     

How can you distinguish real netizens from participants in a hidden influence campaign on Twitter? It’s not easy, say analysts Franziska Keller, David Schoch, Sebastian Stier and JungHwan Yang.  We examined eight hidden propaganda… Read more »